Get Into College, Shinji
by Kagunangel
Summary: Modern Kawoshin AU in which Shinji gives his first person take on life at NERV highschool. Being the son of Evangelion University's principal, the burden of getting into this prestigious school is given to Shinji. Perhaps he just needs the help of someone who cares to aid him in improving his grades. This is my first fic, so feedback would be great!
1. Chapter 1

Mom died giving birth to my sister, Ayanami Rei. Ayanami, a slim girl who's albinism gives her crimson eyes and soft white hair, dyed a soft shade of blue, a cool shade that compliments her strikingly cold beauty, which softly frames her face in a bob. My sister, despite her distant demeanor and an unnerving appearance that has occasionally frightened men, is the only person left in my family who cares for me at all. And despite the fact that Father...Gendo...loves only her, practically a copy, a winter-pale copy of my once-warm mother, I still love her, very much, and very fiercely. My eyes focus in the dark, adjusting to the dim morning light. Ayanami has her hand on my shoulder, and I can make out the glint of her eyes and I'm glad it's her instead of Gendo. If it were Gendo, the warmth on my shoulder would not be from a soft touch but would be the hot sting of a slap by his rough hands. Instead of my sister's gaze, a look that I know, that makes me feel safe, I would see the sharp glint of his glasses, the glass too dark for me to see his eyes and to read his face as I'm jerked up and out of bed, Gend-"Shinji-kun." I startle when I realize that I'd zoned out. "Shinji, it is five minutes till Father will come to check if you're ready for school. Here is your uniform," she says with a soft smile and her thin brows furrowed. "Shit-OW," I hiss, rubbing my shoulder where Ayanami had just pinched me. Really?! I'm about to say this out loud, but she's already out the door. Off to wait for Asuka at the chain-link gate, I suppose. Fricken Asuka's going to give me such a hard time if I make her wait and waste the precious time of her and her girlfriend "Rei-chan" *read in her uppity, slightly accented voice*. Fuck school. The zip of my zipper. Fuck this morning. The slip of my undershirt. UGH fuck it! My shirt's starch against my collar bones. Ok, ready to go...wait. I lean toward the simple, square mirror above my desk to quickly assess my appearance. I sigh slightly as I finger-brush my bangs. Aw, look Shinji. It's you, I think tiredly, dissociating from my image...a thin, tan, japanese boy with amber eyes ringed in light purple hollows from lack of sleep, my head topped by brown hair with short, choppy fringe. As I turn from the overly-honest reflective glass, my heart ricochets off my ribs with a stuttering beat because I'm looking up at him. "Ikari Shinji," Gendo declares in a gravely and low voice as blank as his stiff, square-jawed face. My mouth parts slightly and I'm about to say good morning to my father when he clears his throat with certain meaning behind that action clear. I hustle off to the door, skidding rapidly on the tile with my tennis shoes. "Get Rei to Nerv and into class safely," I hear. You're the son, a man, and so...that is your duty, alongside getting into Evangelion University. As the Principle, I'd be dishonored if you did not get in." I do not turn around. I run, straight out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

I ponder of something great, my lungs will fill and then deflate-"Heyyy stupid Shinji! Get your scrawny ass over here, ya doofus!" Oh, Asuka appears to be waving me over. Thankfully I can't hear her over my music, currently 21 pilots..."somebody stole, my car radio, and now I just sit in silence," sings the weary- sounding voice. I get up and walk over to The German girl, who has her hands resting on her sassily slanted hips. "Hey, Shinji," she says while pulling out my earbuds. "Y-yes, Asuka?" I asked. "Doll here," she said, leaning on Ayanami's shoulder "Has had her meeting with the college planning counselor, who says that she is on track to becoming a student at Evangelion!" What about yourself, Asuka?" I mumble, trying to avoid eye contact because I'm too tired to really banter with her today. "Well of course, I have a lot of good credits already, you know, thanks to honors and AP...but Shin-chan, I'm concerned about you. This is about you shinji. I know your math grades aren't quite up to par. Sure you could go to the local college but Gendo would never allow it...do you need a tutor, Shinji?" Asuka placed the hand that wasn't in Ayanami's on my shoulder and stares at me with a stern expression. I slide my glance away from her and say I'll be fine...wait, I hear Asuka talking to someone?! What? When I turn back to face her, she's one the phone. "Oh sure Ikari-san. Yes, you know me, you know that I can be an excellent tutor for Shinji-kun. No need for pay either, the counselor, Misato-san, she says It looks good on my college application to have done some community service. You can count on me sir!" The phone beeps with finality after the call. "Sorry, Mr. Sad Turnip, It's a win-win situation I couldn't pass up." I turn to Ayanami for any help, seeing as she's been silent this whole time, but "You mustn't run away from problems, Shinji. Face what you must do head on...Asuka and I have," she says softly, with a sad note at the end of her sentence. My right fist clenches as I bite my inner cheek. "I'm sorry, Ayanami, Asuka." Smile, Shinji. Good. That's better. Smile and people will treat you kindly.


	3. Chapter 3

The music room is down the hall and to the right. The room's ceiling is covered in skylights that let in bright light, which glides across the white tiles floor, and filters through the leaves of a small, potted tree, which is positioned near a glossy black piano. Sometimes I come here to play the cello. It was an instrument I was forced to take up, but I never stopped. Why? Well, no one told me too. Sounds pathetic, but I thought "Maybe I'll become great at this. And I'll make people happy" and "Shinji, if you quit, it'll show that you have a weak resolve. Those with weak resolve accomplish nothing." But it's ok. I lost myself in the mindless repetition of practice. I'm a person who takes solace in moments of stillness, in the pleasantly mundane, whether it be folding laundry or pulling the bow over the taut strings. I go to the corner where the humongous, glossy brown beast rests and sit on the small stool. Taking up the bow, I close my eyes and let myself play whatever meaningless notes I can. I do not hear the footsteps, but when I open my eyes, I find that I am not alone. There is a boy in the room, a few feet from me, standing directly under one of the skylights. Pale wisps of silvery-white hair flick around his head like a halo around the pale face. The sun shines on the glinting pair of red eyes, and I'm reminded of Ayanami. His features are, well...elegant is the best description. Long, pale neck, long, pale fingers and a stately posture...Omygosh,Shinji,your ambiguously queer sexuality that you've never explicitly told anyone about is showing. Nooo, that's not true, Voice, I just think he's a peculiar individual who, I have a wary interest of. Oh dear, talking to myself again. Meh, but everyone does that sometimes. Anyway, he's staring at me...smiling at me now, and I hold the bow more tightly as I look down at my tennis shoes. "Your music seems like longing and sadness pouring out of your hands, thoughts you wish you could express verbally but were never given the chance to flow freely. Beautiful and delicate," he says. For what feels like ages, I choke on my words until I spit out "I don't know you" in an embarrassingly frantic voice that sounds like it ended in a shrill question. "I'm Kaworu Nagisa, you can call me Kaworu. I transferred here just yesterday from a private boarding school in Switzerland. I was born here in Japan, though." I don't know what to say. "Um, I-I'm sorry!" When in doubt, apologize unnecessarily. First rule in the bestselling self-help book: Shinji's Guide to Survival. I try to scurry out, but when there's a cello between your legs, scurrying becomes slow and clumsy and so I am stuck, trying to get off the damn stool when I hear that soft voice speaking with mirth laced in it, saying, out of all things..."Hello 'Sorry', as I said, I'm Kaworu." Wow. This being, who looks like some sort of angel, all enveloped in light, pale and glowing, has just made a dad joke."Fufu~" Yes, his laugh is a "fufu" sound, as delicate and airy as he looks-Shinji, please! I shake my head slightly, I'm just so scattered, even though I came here to relax. "If you please," he says, stepping closer, drawing out a clacking sound on the tile with his heel. "What is your real name, Sorry-kun?" He's in front of me and I remain silent. He touches my hand, suddenly, and it's cool to the touch, and then warm, and I somehow feel the uncharacteristically calm rush that is trust. "Ikari. Ikari Shinj. Shinji! That's my name." I blurt. "Shinji-kun", says the albino boy, "I will surely see you again very soon." And with that he turns back to the piano, lowers onto the smooth bench, and the pale hand that just touched mine rests on a cream key. I don't stick around to hear this strange new student play. I half-run to the school gate where I wait for my sister's last class to end. As I lean against the brick wall that shelters the school, my heart beats quickly...I come to a sinking realization that perhaps this is not solely the result of my jog.


End file.
